Hutchinson Blackbird Race highway tyre overview: Faster, lighter, grippier, and nonetheless nice worth

The Hutchinson Blackbird Race tyre is model new for 2025 and builds on the earlier Blackbird tyre. It is at present getting used within the WorldTour by Intermarché-Wanty, notably serving to in direction of final 12 months’s Tour de France Green Jersey of Biniam Girmay. It’s considerably lighter than the earlier Blackbird; at 246g it now sits within the realms of a few of the lightest race day excessive efficiency tyres which is noticeable particularly when making accelerations, or on steep climbs.

Although we haven’t bought it as a part of our rolling resistance testing, Hutchinson claims the brand new tyre is 10% sooner, and again to again testing does lend itself to saying the brand new Blackbird Race does roll sooner. A ‘Mach Tread Ultimate’ compound and ‘Ultraswift’ casing being the lead modifications attributed to those efficiency enhancements.

It is sadly nonetheless solely obtainable in additional restricted sizes, at 28 and 30c, that are each hookless appropriate. However the model does state that wider fashions are in improvement. A £69.99/$79.99 RRP per tyre additionally makes this one of many least expensive of the most effective highway bike tyres in the marketplace. The mixture of low value, strong rolling efficiency, and low weight giving it good grounds to be an excellent tyre possibility that must be thought-about by pace seekers.

Design and specs

Gone is the Mach Tread 3.0 of the earlier tyre. Mach Tread Ultimate is the brand new prime of the pecking order from Hutchinson. It claims that this new compound is the quickest that it has ever made, with a ten% achieve in wattage effectivity within the 28mm tyre, and much more within the 30mm. No take a look at pace or direct watt financial savings are given for this declare nevertheless. The earlier Mach Tread 3.0 was designed to supply better rebound efficiency, so return of vitality over rougher highway surfaces, nevertheless there aren’t any such claims with the brand new Ultimate and no specifics on tear resistance both.

Another new know-how is the Ultraswift casing, taking up from the SwiftEasy beforehand used. It nonetheless makes use of three layers of 127 TPI casing wrapped round and bonded to a puncture safety belt, with solely two layers on the highest of the tyre to scale back rolling resistance. This is identical association as the usual Blackbird. Hutchinson claims this new casing helps scale back the burden of the rubberised cloth by 22%, whereas decreasing central thickness by 23%, one thing usually attributed to raised rolling resistance and backed up in our testing.

Hutchinson additionally states that the brand new casing is extra versatile and supple, giving a better notion of pace in addition to enhancing grip. The whole weight is available in at 246g for a 28mm tyre, near the 240g claimed and 40g lighter than the earlier Blackbird weighed in. For the 30c possibility, 255g is the claimed weight. These nevertheless are the one measurement choices at current, though each are hookless appropriate. Hutchinson says that wider fashions are in improvement, however no time of launch has been given but. There can be solely the black color possibility obtainable at current, dropping the tan/gum wall possibility beforehand seen on the usual Blackbird.

Performance

Starting off, the Blackbird Race tyres are the brand new best tubeless tyres to suit and by fairly a margin. The earlier Blackbird have been additionally impressively straightforward to get on, however the Blackbird Race are a breeze to placed on with none type of levers or a lot elbow grease to get the ultimate little bit of tread over the rim. Pumping with a monitor pump was then all that was wanted to get them seated with no sealant leakage points in any respect. This additionally made life simpler after I did expertise one tyre burp associated deflation due to a heavy influence on the sting of a pothole. Armed with a handpump, I used to be simply capable of get the tyre to reseal and resit, one thing that has confirmed tough beforehand with a handpump vs gasoline canister.

Set up on a pair of Shimano 105 WH-RS710 C46 TLs with 21mm inside and 28mm exterior width, the Blackbird Race got here up at 28.32mm, comfortably across the marketed 28mm width. As with the earlier Blackbird’s these are directionally mounted tyres so make sure you get them fitted the precise course for optimum grip.

Getting them out on the highway, the distinction in weight is definitely noticeable fairly shortly in comparison with each the earlier tyre, but in addition a number of different ~300g tyres. Weight clever these are lighter than all the things we examined in our rolling resistance take a look at in addition to the Panaracer Agilest TLR, which have been 2g lighter. This meant that accelerating up climbs and even sprinting out of corners or away from junctions, the tyres felt immediately spritely. 

Given they’re on the furthest level from the centre of rotation, when trying to alter pace that weight has a better lever impact and requires extra drive to speed up. Tyre weight actually isn’t noticeable when cruising alongside the flats, nor even when climbing at a constant pace, however accelerating is the place this low weight actually shone by means of and was genuinely fairly spectacular on this case. 

This discount in weight doesn’t seem to have had any influence on puncture safety both. At no level in testing did I’ve any punctures (bar the burping influence), or something that required sealing. Going over the tyres after a very good 600km on poor highway surfaces with hedge trimmings and numerous filth, the tread nonetheless seems in good situations and there aren’t any nicks throughout the floor of the tyre. The discount in tread depth will nevertheless have seemingly decreased the lifespan of those tyres. The earlier Blackbird boasted a 4000km lifespan, though it’s not sure if that was entrance or rear tyre, or a median of each. However, even when that has halved, that’s nonetheless an exceptionally lengthy put on life for a race day tyre, and my 600km of take a look at driving doesn’t seem to have gotten near nearing any noticeable indicators of damage.

The solely barely odd change between the Blackbird Race and the Blackbird is that these new tyres really feel barely harsher than the earlier technology. Given they use a 127 TPI on each, with the identical layering, it’s onerous to pin down why this may be. They don’t bounce on tough surfaces, and the grip in each moist and dry situations remains to be very good. They simply seem like a bit of harsher to experience on on the identical pressures.

Obviously one other large declare with these tyres is the improved rolling effectivity. Hutchinson’s “10% sooner” rolling declare vs the final Blackbird doesn’t include any watt numbers or speeds examined at. If we take the model at its phrase and apply that 10% saving throughout the rolling resistance testing we carried out, we will assume that at 9m/s and 11m/s the brand new watts required for the Blackbird Race are 13.32w and 20.07w respectively, taking 10% away from the outcomes for the common Blackbird. This nonetheless has them behind the Continental GP5000 S TR by 3.32w and 4.07w, however it does put them in step with the Pirelli P Zero Race TLR RS and Vittoria Corsa Pro. 

However each of these are considerably costlier and heavier. Out on the highway, the Blackbird Race actually really feel sooner than the Blackbird in again to again testing on the identical wheelset. They are clearly nonetheless seemingly giving up some efficiency to the category main quick rolling tyres although.

Value

At £69.99 per tyre, the Hutchinson Blackbird Race are nonetheless an impressively competitively priced race day tyre. When we take a look at the Continental GP5000 S TR, Pirelli PZero Race TLR RS, Vittoria Corsa Pro they’re all within the £80/$100+ per tyre area or larger. The GP5000 S TR are notably sooner based mostly on testing and notion although, and face much less of a weight penalty. 

There are equally priced tyres with comparable efficiency ranges, specifically the Schwalbe Pro One TT, however this forgoes a very good degree of puncture safety and sturdiness being a TT tyre. That then leaves the Goodyear Eagle F1 Supersport R and Challenge Criterium RS, that are comparable value, comparable rolling, and likewise comparable weight. However each face points with sturdiness in addition to probably ease of becoming as is the case with the Challenge tyres. Specialized and Panaracer even have some sooner rolling choices in the identical value bracket, however these don’t provide tubeless so miss out on the potential to seal any smaller punctures.

I’ve been capable of take a look at the Pirelli, Continental, and Vittoria tyres, and might say that the Hutchinson do carry out higher in a number of areas. Durability clever, I’ll confidently say the Blackbird Race will last more than the others, and are additionally far simpler to suit. The weight can be higher and noticeably so in comparison with the Vittoria and Pirelli. Grip can be superior to them, whereas being on par with the Continental. There is in fact the difficulty of tyre width, as at current the Blackbird Race is proscribed in that respect. However, as an all-round solidly performing tyre, these are very efficient, and solely actually miss out a bit on whole rolling resistance, however achieve this whereas showing to take care of higher longevity and puncture resistance, so maybe a worthwhile commerce.

Verdict

The Hutchinson Blackbird Race tyres are a really strong enchancment over the Blackbirds in a number of key areas that make them a extra ultimate race day and efficiency tyre providing whereas sustaining a really comparable value level. They have a decreased lifespan, which is the primary trade-off for the improved rolling resistance and tremendously decreased weight, however for these wanting peak efficiency, it’s a worthwhile trade. It additionally maintains the superb all-weather grip and turns into an excellent simpler tyre to suit. It does nevertheless nonetheless have restricted measurement choices and feels a bit harsher on tough roads.

It’s additionally not the quickest race day tyre providing, with a number of tyres providing higher rolling resistance. However, normally that comes with both an elevated value, decreased longevity and puncture safety, elevated weight, or lack of tubeless compatibility. If you need the most effective all-round efficiency money-no-object, then the Continental GP5000 S TR are nonetheless the halo providing. However, if you’d like an awesome mixture of pace, grip, longevity, ease of becoming, tubeless, and lightweight weight, then the Blackbird Race are a really worthwhile consideration.